Penny Wong Australia's Finance Minister Penny Wong has boosted the push for gay marriage within Labor, breaking ranks to support a motion from the left faction of the South Australian ALP, which passed by two votes. Senator Wong is a lesbian but had adhered to party policy by declining to publicly support gay marriage, drawing criticism from gay rights groups. She has now backed a motion at the South Australian ALP conference, which calls on the ALP national conference to sanction gay marriage when it meets in December next year. Senator Wong told the conference she knows what it is like to be the subject of prejudice. ''I have had the opportunity to advocate for equality at the highest levels of our party and within our party processes, as I do today,'' she said. ''And I will do so at the next national conference. Talking about change is not the same as delivering it.'' South Australia and Northern Territory Labor branches have both changed policy in recent weeks to support gay marriage. Alex Greenwich, a spokesman for the lobby group Australian Marriage Equality says it is just a matter of keeping the momentum going' until the national conference. He says Senator Wong's intervention and victory is critical for the cause because she can argue from a personal and human rights standpoint.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 29th November 2010 - 1:51pm